SPECIAL REPORT: REWRITING THE AMERICAN DREAMS: From boss man to fix-it guy

Truitt Sims’ hands speak volumes about the economy.

Callused, dirty, paint-streaked and bandaged. They say this 65-year-old is working harder than ever to survive the toughest work environment he’s seen.

Sims had a good gig for 31 years. He supervised heavy construction crews that built roads and sewers for new subdivisions. Two years ago, the company had 25 employees.

Then it all went “poof.” He got laid off.

“We were wide open and then it stopped, absolutely stopped; it was like someone flicked a light switch,” Sims said. “The owner had to do what he had to do. And he was as good a friend as I’ve had in my life.”

Sims, a compact, bearded man with a gravelly voice, was recounting his career shift recently during a smoke break at a home renovation site in Atlanta. He’s no longer the supervisor in a pickup truck with a cellphone: He’s a hands-on jack-of-all-trades. He figures he’s lost 35 pounds climbing ladders, squeezing into crawl spaces and humping lumber. “You got to keep at it,” the Snellville man said. “As long as I’m on this side of the ground, I’m good.”

If Sims is glad to have a job, Steve West is glad to have a partner.

West is a skilled carpenter who has renovated homes in Atlanta for nearly 20 years and once did some work for Sims. In December 2007, West was looking for a trustworthy helper and asked Sims whether he knew anyone. Sims, recently unemployed, said: “Hell, I’ll do it. I’m not afraid of work.”

Their partnership was a combination —- young and old, North and South, and shared skills —- that has worked for both men as the economy soured. They say it shows that friendship, shared resources, knowledge and job leads go a long way toward survival in hard times.

“We complement each other,” West said. “We’re watching each other’s backs, trying to stay afloat.”

Sims has experience in mechanics, heating, plumbing and foundations. West is a craftsman and the outfit’s rainmaker, spending countless hours chasing dwindling business.

Sims jokes he’s a Southern guy with three last names —- Truitt Cheatam Sims Jr. The 47-year-old West still has his Philly bark. Both served in the Air Force.

Asked just how tough business is these days, West smiles and shakes his head. “It’s awful, man. It’s not a nuclear bomb. But it’s a suitcase nuke.”

Business is down at least 25 percent, he said, maybe even 50 percent. The recession has hit both new home sales and home renovations hard in metro Atlanta.

New home sales in the Atlanta area were down by half in December, according to a report from SmartNumbers, a Marietta research firm. And a Harvard University study said that in the third quarter of 2008 home renovations dropped 16 percent nationally from the previous year, and it predicted further drops.

Two years ago, West ran a crew of eight workmen, staying busy on big-ticket renovations such as kitchens, master bedroom expansions and fancy bathrooms. It was a juggling act that had him often turning away work.

These days, West runs several hours a day trying to keep a crew of three or four busy. Maybe one week a month they are not.

“Before, you’d bid three jobs [and] you’d get one; now you bid 10 jobs and are waiting for the phone to ring,” West said. Sometimes he’ll drive by a job he bid for months earlier and sees no sign of work. Homeowners are backing away from renovations or are continually calling contractors to get a bare-bones offer.

“We’re taking jobs we wouldn’t take before, anything we can do to make money,” he said.

Recently, West and Sims worked at a small bungalow in Atlanta’s Kirkwood neighborhood where an investor was pushing to finish a renovation to get the house on the market. Instead of installing high-end cabinets or adding a family room, as they might have done two years ago, West and his team were roofing and painting the place —- two jobs that until recently were the low-margin bailiwick of immigrant crews.

Illegal immigrant construction workers are a sore spot with West, who sees them as unfair competition.

“You keep hearing that ‘Americans don’t want to work. Americans don’t want to work.’ When I hear that I discount anything that person is saying. [Undocumented immigrants] will work for $40 a day,” he said. “It’s not their fault. The contractors are abusing them. It drives down the wages.”

U.S Department of Labor figures for February say the number of construction jobs in metro Atlanta is down 16 percent. Both West and Sims think the number is far greater than that.

West is shocked by the number of people calling for work —- former co-workers, acquaintances, friends of friends, guys who just happen by. “People are calling who were gainfully employed a year ago. They call begging. And I’ve got nothing to give them.”

And now there’s a stream of new competition: Johnny-come-latelies.

“You have a lot of guys flooding the market. They are out of work and may be handy around the house on weekends. Suddenly they think they’re contractors.”

West had plans of expanding his business, especially when Sims signed on with him. West had hit a good work rhythm and he finally had someone he could trust to run his crew while he was out drumming up new business. But work was drying up at the same time.

And with tough times comes additional pressure for West while he’s out networking because others are depending on him.

“I find myself stressing more than I want to, more than I used to,” he said. “You wake up in the middle of the night. You feel responsible for them.”

West, who is divorced, said he is glad his children —- Matt, who works as a remodeler in Florida, and Addison, who will be a college senior —- are grown.

But while West frets about finding new work for his crew, Sims sleeps better these days, even though he’s making less than half the $80,000-plus a year he made before the economy tanked.

“There’s less stress in my life these days,” Sims said. “I was always in the middle [of disputes] with contractors, crews, the county, the owner. It was 24 hours, always there.”

Sims’ son, Truitt, who worked with him before, now works doing much the same as him. His daughter, Jacqueline, now works with him and West if they need a painter. His wife, Patricia, is a retired rural mail carrier.

Sims was only unemployed once before —- during the recession in the mid-1970s. People need to keep their options open and their pride in check, he said.

“You have to keep it in your mind you’ll never be without a job,” he said. “You can work at Wal-Mart. You can dig a ditch. It may not pay much. It may not be pretty.”

ABOUT THE SERIES

It’s the American Dream. Legions of metro Atlantans have worked hard, played by the rules and expected, like generations before, to reap the benefits of jobs well done.

But the Depression-like economy has clouded many dreams, like those of the 18-year-old from Lithonia postponing college. Or the regional salesman once closing in on retirement. Or the master carpenter scrounging for jobs he considered beneath him a year ago.

Over the next year, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will chronicle the lives of a half-dozen people determined to overcome economic morass. Some will struggle; others will persevere, even thrive. All will strive to recapture their dreams, a quintessentially American experience.

WHO YOU’LL MEET IN THIS SERIES

SHANEKA WILLIAMS

18, Lithonia

Family: She and her parents, 12-year-old sister and 9-year-old brother live in Lithonia.

Situation: The 2008 Lithonia High School graduate had a scholarship to attend Clark Atlanta University but was unable to go because of financial hardship. She didn’t have money to cover books or gas to get there. Her mom’s out of work, and her dad’s engineering job is uncertain.

What she’s up to: She’s taking online courses through a college closer to her home. Still unable to pay for books, she does a lot of research online. She recently landed a job at a day care center. She got the job through Young People Matter, a 2-year-old work program that helps teenagers find jobs to help their cash-strapped families. She hasn’t given up on Clark Atlanta.

Quote: “Right now I do my schoolwork online in the morning. All of my classes are online. That helps with the cost. But I really want to try to get to Clark Atlanta in the fall.”

CHRIS RAY 37, Marietta

Family: Wife, Laura; son, Carter, 2.

Situation: Laid off twice in the past year, three times in the past nine years. Abhors debt and live-beyond-your-means mentality. Postpones big-ticket purchases —- furnace, roof, car, big-screen TV —- until he can pay with cash.

What he’s up to: Hired in December as project manager providing retail support for hospitals and health care facilities.

Quote: “The Bible says the borrower is slave to the lender, and that’s true. You only have to look at our society today.”

WALLE WATERS 58, Peachtree City

Family: Wife, Debra; grown children.

Situation: Moved from the Midwest two years ago when Debra landed a good job with Panasonic Automotive. Walle, a successful frozen-food salesman, couldn’t find a job in Atlanta. Employers are leery of hiring older workers. Walle tried selling cars. He applied at Kroger and Coweta County schools. Nothing.

What he’s up to: In January, Walle moved to Florida to take a job leasing apartments to retirees. He lives with his sister, who helped him get the job. Walle has rented a couple of units. The recession, and the inability of potential customers to sell their current homes, slows business. The house in Georgia is on the market. In May, Walle and Debra will see each other for the first time in three months.

Quote: “I am doing a [180] and out of my comfort zone, so Debra sent me a paperweight that says, ‘You haven’t failed until you give up.’ I just love that woman.”

DELILAH WHITESMITH 48, Suwanee

Family: Separated from her husband, Derek. Two children, son J.R., 29, and daughter Bianca, 15.

Situation: The downturn in the economy has slowed sales at Whitesmith’s flower shop, making it impossible for her to keep her business running and pay off $100,000 in debt left over from a 2004 expansion bid. Adding to her predicament, she’s going through a divorce and frequently has to take time off to supervise the care of her daughter, who has cystic fibrosis.

What she’s up to: On the advice of her attorney, Whitesmith is waiting for one of her creditors to sue her over lapsed payments before filing for personal bankruptcy.

Quote: “God just has not put a spirit of fear in me, I know without a doubt that He will come through for me. I just don’t know when. It is His timing, not mine.”